Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a Novel Solar air Heater Based on Flat Micro-heat Pipe Arrays (FMHPA)

Abstract

In order to improve the efficiency of solar air heater, a novel solar air heater with flat micro-heat pipe arrays (FMHPA) is presented in this study. The structure of FMHPA-solar air heater, the working principle and experimental test facility have also been described in detail. The efficiency, the pressure drop and the time constant are determined for the FMHPA-solar air heater. The results showed that the average thermal efficiency of the solar air heater is up to 70% of stable operation and time constant is about 14 minutes. Experimental results indicate better thermal efficiency for FMHPA-solar air heater compared to a traditional flat plate heater.